Welcome to the Cheeky Weekly blog!


Welcome to the Cheeky Weekly blog!
Cheeky Weekly ™ REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, COPYRIGHT ©  REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED was a British children's comic with cover dates spanning 22 October 1977 to 02 February 1980.

Quick links...
Basic Stats
Cheeky Weekly Index - Cheeky Annuals and Specials Index
Cheeky Weekly Artist Index
Features by Number of Appearances
Cheeky Weekly Timeline
Major Characters from the Cheeky pages
Features Ordered by Date of Commencement

*** ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT ©  REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Used with permission. ***
*** CHEEKY WEEKLY, KRAZY, WHOOPEE!, WHOOPEE, WOW!, WHIZZER AND CHIPS and BUSTER ARE ™ REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, COPYRIGHT ©  REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ***
Thanks for reading the blog.

Tuesday, 5 October 2010

The Other Cheeky Artists - Frank McDiarmid Pencils

In this post I'm going to look at the Cheeky's Week artwork that I have attributed to 'Frank McDiarmid pencils' (FMP).  To quote from my earlier post here -


'I originally thought [some of the artwork in question] was by Tom Paterson but I got no support when I postulated this theory on the Comics UK forum.  However, RobFilth on the forum suggested that these pages may be Frank's pencils inked by another artist, and Lew Stringer put forward the idea that possibly Frank had an assistant to help him out at times.

My inclination now is that the art assistant suggestion is the most likely answer, so I'm going to record the artist for these pages, and similar-looking pages in later issues, as 'Frank McDiarmid pencils', unless anyone knows otherwise. My analysis of all the Cheeky's Week artwork shows that the combined Frank McDiarmid and Frank McDiarmid pencils artwork amounts to two thirds of the total, which is what Frank estimated his contribution to be when he was interviewed for Crikey!

I'm not suggesting that all the artwork in my FMP category is inked by the same artist.  What the artwork has in common (in my opinion) is a similarity to the style we know to be pure Frank (pages he signed are the obvious template), yet the art also has an element of un-Frank-ness about it, particularly in the lettering of the various gags written around the panels which are clearly not Frank's writing.


FMP art first appeared in Cheeky Weekly issue 4, dated 12 November 1977.  FMP were responsible for 11 of that issue's Cheeky's Week elements, with Frank providing the post-Creepy Sleepy Tale Wednesday strip on his own.  The two-panel conclusion to Saturday, reminding readers to call the Fun Phone, consisted of a previously-published Frank McD panel originating from the back page of the first issue, and another panel which looks as though it's the result of a cut-and paste job.

The following week, FMP were responsible for 5 pages, and in the next issue they delivered a whole Cheeky's Week.

This brings us to the 03 December 1977 issue, in which FMP artwork appeared on 11 elements.  In the 10 December issue the FMP count was down to 5 elements, one of which was the What A Cheek cover feature.

In the comic dated 17 December, there were 8 FMP elements, and the 24 December, issue had Friday as the only FMP art.

I'm pleased to say that the Christmas issue dated 31 December 1977 featured an all-Frank Cheeky's Week.  No doubt the assistance given to Frank by his inker(s) and Dick Millington in the issues running up to this one was intended to allow him time to generate a whole week of Cheeky festive fun on his own, for which we must all give thanks.

The first comic of 1978, dated 07 January, featured FMP across the whole of Cheeky's Week, but FMP then skipped a week and returned with 3 pages on 21 January.

28 January saw 4 pages of FMP art, and there was then a break until 11 February's 4 FMP pages plus Wednesday conclusion, followed by the 18 February comic which featured FMP art on What A Cheek and the final two panels of the Saturday conclusion on page 30.

FMP were responsible for 9 elements the following week, 25 February, but didn't return until 11 March, when they delivered the Wednesday conclusion only. The 18 March issue featured provided 7 FMP elements.  2 pages by FMP appeared in the issue cover dated 25 March, and a total of 5 elements appeared in the 01 April 1978 issue.

The Wednesday conclusion was the only FMP art in the 08 April issue, but FMP returned with 4 pages in the 15 April issue, followed by a single FMP page on 22 April.  4 pages of FMP appeared in the 29 April comic, and a further week was skipped before FMP contributed 7 elements to the 13 May issue.

After a gap of 2 weeks, FMP were back with 8 elements in the 03 June issue.  After another 2 week break, FMP furnished us with 5 elements in the 24 June 1978 comic.

The following week saw a single FMP-produced element (What A Cheek again), but the 08 July issue contained 10 FMP elements.  15 July 1978 had only the Wednesday conclusion by FMP, and after skipping a week FMP were back to provide only the Wednesday conclusion again in the 29 July issue.

The element count was back in double figures as FMP generated 10 elements in the 12 August 1978 comic, but dropped to 8 on 02 September before increase to 10 elements again in the 23 September issue.

There then followed one FMP issue a month, as the 21 October issue featured 10 FMP elements, while 18 November saw another 10 FMP elements.

However, just as this pattern seemed to become established we encounter a month's gap, due in part to the non-publication of the comic for 3 weeks in December 1978 because of industrial action, with FMP not returning until the 06 January 1979 issue with a 9 FMP-element comic.

An even longer break then followed, with no more FMP art until the issue dated 14 April 1979, which featured 8 elements by FMP.

We then entered another period of 'one-a-month' FMP issues, with 4 elements in the 26 May comic, 8 in the issue dated 09 June, 4 on 21 July and 5 in the issue cover dated 18 August.

The pattern was broken when 3 FMP elements appeared in the 25 August comic. FMP supplied 2 pages in the 02 September 1978 issue, and the cover of the issue dated 15 September 1979.  The final comic to feature FMP art was issue number 98 dated 22 September 1979 which contained 3 FMP elements.

FMP's Cheeky's Week pages in Cheeky Weekly

Cover Date
Page
Element
12-Nov-19771What a Cheek
12-Nov-19772Sunday
12-Nov-19774Sunday evening
12-Nov-19778Monday
12-Nov-197712Tuesday
12-Nov-197714Tuesday
12-Nov-197715Wednesday
12-Nov-197718Thursday
12-Nov-197720Friday
12-Nov-197725Saturday
12-Nov-197727Interval
19-Nov-19774Sunday evening
19-Nov-197719Thursday
19-Nov-197721Friday
19-Nov-197724Saturday
19-Nov-197727Interval
26-Nov-19771What a Cheek
26-Nov-19772Sunday
26-Nov-19774Sunday evening
26-Nov-19777Monday
26-Nov-197712Tuesday
26-Nov-197715Wednesday
26-Nov-197717Wednesday
26-Nov-197719Thursday
26-Nov-197721Friday
26-Nov-197724Saturday
26-Nov-197727Interval
26-Nov-197730Saturday
03-Dec-19774Sunday evening
03-Dec-19777Monday
03-Dec-197711Tuesday
03-Dec-197713Tuesday
03-Dec-197715Wednesday
03-Dec-197717Wednesday
03-Dec-197719Thursday
03-Dec-197721Friday
03-Dec-197724Saturday
03-Dec-197727Interval
03-Dec-197730Saturday
10-Dec-19771What a Cheek
10-Dec-19772Sunday
10-Dec-197719Thursday
10-Dec-197724Saturday
10-Dec-197727Interval
17-Dec-19771What a Cheek
17-Dec-19772Sunday
17-Dec-19774Sunday evening
17-Dec-19777Monday
17-Dec-197712Tuesday
17-Dec-197714Tuesday
17-Dec-197715Wednesday
17-Dec-197717Wednesday
24-Dec-197721Friday
07-Jan-19782New Year's Eve
07-Jan-19783Sunday
07-Jan-19785Sunday evening
07-Jan-19789Monday
07-Jan-197812Suddenly
07-Jan-197813Tuesday
07-Jan-197815Wednesday
07-Jan-197817Wednesday
07-Jan-197819Thursday
07-Jan-197821Friday
07-Jan-197824Saturday
07-Jan-197827Interval
21-Jan-197819Thursday
21-Jan-197821Friday
21-Jan-197827Interval
28-Jan-19782Sunday
28-Jan-19784Sunday evening
28-Jan-19787Monday
28-Jan-197812Tuesday
11-Feb-19782Sunday
11-Feb-19784Sunday evening
11-Feb-19788Monday
11-Feb-197811Suddenly
11-Feb-197817Wednesday
18-Feb-19781What a Cheek
18-Feb-197830Saturday
25-Feb-19781What a Cheek
25-Feb-19782Sunday
25-Feb-19784Sunday evening
25-Feb-19788Monday
25-Feb-197811Suddenly
25-Feb-197812Tuesday
25-Feb-197815Wednesday
25-Feb-197819Thursday
25-Feb-197825Saturday
11-Mar-197817Wednesday
18-Mar-197815Wednesday
18-Mar-197817Wednesday
18-Mar-197819Thursday
18-Mar-197821Friday
18-Mar-197825Saturday
18-Mar-197828Interval
18-Mar-197831Saturday
25-Mar-19781What a Cheek
25-Mar-197828Interval
01-Apr-197815Wednesday
01-Apr-197819Thursday
01-Apr-197821Friday
01-Apr-197824Saturday - April Fool's Day
01-Apr-197825Saturday - April Fool's Day
08-Apr-197817Wednesday
15-Apr-197819Thursday
15-Apr-197821Friday
15-Apr-197825Saturday
15-Apr-197828Interval
22-Apr-19781What a Cheek
29-Apr-19782Sunday
29-Apr-19784Sunday evening
29-Apr-197812Suddenly
29-Apr-197815Wednesday
13-May-197815Wednesday
13-May-197817Wednesday
13-May-197819Thursday
13-May-197821Friday
13-May-197824Saturday
13-May-197828Interval
13-May-197831Saturday
03-Jun-19781What a Cheek
03-Jun-19782Sunday
03-Jun-19784Sunday evening
03-Jun-19789Monday
03-Jun-197812Suddenly
03-Jun-197813Tuesday
03-Jun-197815Wednesday
03-Jun-197819Thursday
24-Jun-197819Thursday
24-Jun-197821Friday
24-Jun-197826Saturday
24-Jun-197828Interval
24-Jun-197831Saturday
01-Jul-19781What a Cheek
08-Jul-19782Sunday
08-Jul-19784Sunday evening
08-Jul-19787Monday
08-Jul-197813Tuesday
08-Jul-197816Wednesday
08-Jul-197820Thursday
08-Jul-197823Friday
08-Jul-197826Saturday
08-Jul-197829Interval
08-Jul-197832Saturday
15-Jul-197819Wednesday
29-Jul-197817Wednesday
12-Aug-19782Sunday
12-Aug-19784Sunday evening
12-Aug-19788Monday
12-Aug-197810Tuesday
12-Aug-197812Wednesday
12-Aug-197815Thursday
12-Aug-197819Friday
12-Aug-197823Saturday
12-Aug-197827Interval
12-Aug-197831Saturday
02-Sep-19782Sunday
02-Sep-19784Sunday evening
02-Sep-19789Monday
02-Sep-197810Tuesday
02-Sep-197815Wednesday
02-Sep-197819Thursday
02-Sep-197823Friday
02-Sep-197825Saturday
02-Sep-197828Interval
02-Sep-197831Saturday
23-Sep-19782Sunday
23-Sep-19784Sunday evening
23-Sep-19788Monday
23-Sep-197812Tuesday
23-Sep-197816Wednesday
23-Sep-197819Thursday
23-Sep-197823Friday
23-Sep-197825Saturday
23-Sep-197828Interval
23-Sep-197831Saturday
21-Oct-19781Cheeky's Week
21-Oct-19782Sunday
21-Oct-19786Monday
21-Oct-19789Tuesday
21-Oct-197812Wednesday
21-Oct-197821Thursday
21-Oct-197823Friday
21-Oct-197826Saturday
21-Oct-197829Interval
21-Oct-197832Saturday
18-Nov-19781Cheeky's Week
18-Nov-19782Sunday
18-Nov-19787Monday
18-Nov-19789Tuesday
18-Nov-197812Wednesday
18-Nov-197821Thursday
18-Nov-197823Friday
18-Nov-197826Saturday
18-Nov-197829Interval
18-Nov-197832Saturday
06-Jan-19791Cheeky's Week
06-Jan-19792Sunday
06-Jan-19796Monday
06-Jan-19799Tuesday
06-Jan-197912Wednesday
06-Jan-197921Thursday
06-Jan-197925Friday
06-Jan-197930Saturday
06-Jan-197931Saturday
14-Apr-19792Sunday
14-Apr-19796Monday
14-Apr-19798Tuesday
14-Apr-197910Wednesday
14-Apr-197923Thursday
14-Apr-197925Good Friday
14-Apr-197930Easter Saturday
14-Apr-197931Easter Saturday
26-May-197923Thursday
26-May-197925Friday
26-May-197930Saturday
26-May-197931Saturday
09-Jun-19792Sunday
09-Jun-19796Monday
09-Jun-19799Tuesday
09-Jun-197912Wednesday
09-Jun-197923Thursday
09-Jun-197925Friday
09-Jun-197930Saturday
09-Jun-197931Saturday
21-Jul-197922Thursday
21-Jul-197926Friday
21-Jul-197930Saturday
21-Jul-197931Saturday
18-Aug-197918Wednesday
18-Aug-197922Thursday
18-Aug-197926Friday
18-Aug-197930Saturday
18-Aug-197931Saturday
25-Aug-19792Sunday
25-Aug-19797Monday
25-Aug-197912Tuesday
15-Sep-19791Old Croc's Race
22-Sep-19792Sunday
22-Sep-19797Monday
22-Sep-197911Tuesday
Posted by at
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)